The Keyblade Wars
by ZombifiedKing
Summary: As Ragnor searches for the truth, the General of the army, Hreth, trains his army for the ultimate doom of the world...
1. Chapter 1

Ragnor got up from his crouching position, and examined the surrounding land. Of course, he found nothing out of the ordinary, as he had just decimated the Xarknok. Hideous creatures. Shapeless, until they fought. They emerged out of a shadow in the air and took whichever from they pleased. They had defeated even the mightiest of Keyblade masters. Ragnor would not be defeated, and he knew it.

His mighty name reflected everything about him. His sharp face, his built body, and his mighty heart. Mighty, and yet humble and kind. He wore elegant clothing, yet he was not yet a master. His black pants clung to his legs, and his shirt was white, going to his wrist. He had straps going in an "X" across his body, red. His hair was black, with a strand of white. It fell down his head, and half way down his torso. His piercing blue eyes had a determined look to them.

The green around him was unfamiliar. He had gotten here by accident. Flying through land between worlds he had been intercepted by the Xarknok. He fought valiantly, but to no avail. He landed on this part of the expansive world, overwhelmed by the Xarknok. Against the odds, he had defeated every one of them.

Now, he needed to rest, but he couldn't. He had a mission, a task he had to complete. He had to prove that you did not need to be a master to protect humanity. And all other worlds that may be out there.

All his life he was told that he should become a master. That was his destiny. That's not what he wanted. He wanted to be free. Do things on his time, and of his own strength. Not a through mark given by a mortal man. His quests were his. Noble, and true.

He thrust his right arm in front of him, and it hit invisible air. A metallic suit ensued his body. Black and silver, with highlights of gold. Completing the suit was a black white cape. He drew back, and a matching keyblade appeared in his hand. He was beginning to throw it in the air when a portal of black appeared behind him. He stood up right, in battle position. He readied himself. Out of the blackness appeared a shadowy figure. No define lines. Completely black except for his blazing red eyes. He held a keyblade, mirroring his appearance. The figure pulled back, ready for battle.

Ragnor rushed forward and swung at him. He swung through air. The figure appeared behind him and threw his keyblade at Ragnor. He fell to the ground, looking back at the figure. Ragnor was convinced it was a Xarknok. He rushed at him again and swung at his neck. Again the figure teleported. The figure let out a dark bellow. Ragnor was confused. A dark wielder? They haven't existed for generations!

"But alas, we have returned!"

Ragnor looked at the figure. He had not opened his mouth, and yet he heard his shadowy voice. What are you? Ragnor thought worriedly. You shall see. The figure replied back.

The Keyblade disappeared from the figure's hand and a black portal appeared behind him. He backed slowly into it.

"GET BACK HERE!" Ragnor screamed as he ran toward the figure.

The figure was enveloped by the black shadow. When Ragnor reached the portal, it faded away. He stood there in confusion of what had just happened. Shaking it off, he threw his Keyblade, Inversion, in the air. It returned capable vehicle the countless hours when traveling to the next lands. He was heading for a land of never ending desert, The Wasteland.

. . .

He arrived at the Wasteland in a matter of hours. it was a land of jagged cliffs, and the cracked dryness of a former lakebed. It had been dried up after a battle between two keyblade wielders. They were engaged in battle for several years. Good had prevailed, but the other had declared that there would be no life there ever again, and the lake dried up, and all the foliage died.

Now, it was a sacred ground. A remembrance of what had happened there. But why was Ragnor there? He had felt a calling, a strong pull. It was dark, though Ragnor was convinced that the only way to be a true master of the keyblade was to know how to control the light and the dark.

He had arrived at this barren wasteland. Jagged cliffs rising miles above him. The dry cracked ground beneath his feet. Still armored, he began analyzing the land. Far off he saw a distant figure. Small from this distance, his figure distorted from the heat rising off the ground. Again, Ragnor climbed on his vehicle and flew toward the figure.

The wind was whipping through his cape. Quickly, the figure grew. Now Ragnor could see one black wing and white hair flowing down the figure's back.

Ragnor grabbed his vehicle by a bar and jumped off. The vehicle reverted back to the Inversion. He hit the ground and executed a masterful roll. He stood up, and was no longer armored. He clutched his keyblade, ready for battle. The figure turned around and began to speak.

"You have arrived" the figure said plainly.

"You- you were the force pulling me... here?" Ragnor questioned.

"Indeed I am."

"Who are you?"

"I am the darkness that you seek to control, the dark half of you heart."

"I meant your name"

"My name is Sephiroth. You will not quench me. You cannot control darkness."

Sephiroth pulled out a monumental sword, stretched meters. Ragnor jumped back and readied for battle.

"Embrace the darkness," Sephiroth said, menacingly.

"Subdue," Ragnor told himself.

Ragnor was the first to strike. He threw his arms in the air and lunged at Sephiroth. Sephiroth merely raised his sword and blocked Ragnor's fierce attack. Ragnor tried again, this time striking his legs. Ragnor ran at Sephiroth, then slid and attempted to slice his legs. Ragnor continued sliding and his keyblade sliced thin air. Sephiroth had teleported himself a distance away from Ragnor. He reappeared and executed a slicing uppercut, throwing Ragnor high in the air. The moment Sephiroth re-appeared Ragnor blocked his attack and struck the one-winged angel. Sephiroth fell to the ground, but quickly got back up. He raised his sword above his head, pointed at Ragnor. Ragnor got into a battle position, determined to defeat Sephiroth, and to control the darkness.

Sephiroth, seemingly hearing his thoughts, grunted in despise. Ragnor closed his eyes, he knew how to defeat Sephiroth. He had to give into the dark. A smirk escaped from Sephiroth's straight face. He ran toward Ragnor then transported to the back side of him. He swing his sword at Ragnor who swiftly turned around to parry the blow. Ragnor then smirked at Sephiroth. His blue eyes were now an evil yellow. He had given in to the dark, to defeat the dark.

They remained like this for minutes. Each pushing with all their might to break the other's parry. The swords began to spark, then ignite in flame as they grew more and more angry. Ragnor threw his body into the parry and Sephiroth flew backward, into a blackness. From behind Ragnor a black portal opened, and Sephiroth flew out and knocked Ragnor to the ground. When Ragnor climbed to his feet, Sephiroth lay lifeless on the cracked ground. Inversion disappeared and Ragnor picked up Sephiroth's sword. He held it in his hand and swing it, getting a feel for it. It was surpirsingly light and balanced. Inversion again appeared in his left hand, and the two blades began drifting toward each other. Ragnor tried to keep them apart, then realized what was happening. he let go of the two swords and they slammed into each other, bursting into a beam of light. Ragnor was struck by the blinding light and fell to the ground.

The light subdued, and what was left was a new keyblade. It's blade was meters long and it's hilt had no barriers. From the end of it pierced three mini-blades, composing the key form on this new keyblade.

Could this be the X-blade of legends? No, he had obtained it far too easily. Still, he felt the power surge through him. This keyblade had never been forged. Had it?

But, he had not defeated the darkness. He had only constricted the darkness in his heart.


	2. Chapter 2

"He is progressing quickly."

"Indeed, but the light is becoming stronger. It is doubtful he will ever bow to our whims."

"He will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I have seen it happen before."

"When?"

"When I made you my servant. If he does not succumb, I know one who will."

"Who?"

"We will extract the darkness of his heart, and he will do our bidding."


	3. Chapter 3

"FOWARD MARCH!"

The drill sergeant, Hreth, was committed to training these keyblade wielders and making them into respectable soldiers. Many were convinced that a kayblade army was unnecessary, however he lived by the motto, "Better safe, than sorry." Everyone in the world thought that a few keyblade masters could without doubt subdue the dark wielders. Hundreds of years later, it would be proven that only one with a pure heart was necessary.

He trained his soldiers with the belief that there was a dark army. None of them questioned his motive. To be quite honest, he knew he didn't have a motive. All he cared about was making sure that everyone in the world was protected from any amount of darkness.

Of course, whenever you believe in a lie enough, it eventually becomes the truth. In training these men for war, he had turned some of them into soldiers of darkness. These wielders controlled the evil Xarnok that now riddled these lands. Some of them had felt mistreated, and wanted to defeat him, others had given into the darkness that they had been taught to fight. Those that remained had pure hearts, they would never give into the darkness.

He himself had been taught by the very first keyblade master. The one that had first forged the X-blade. His master had mastered the art of immortality. He had been alive for thousands of years before he had trained Hreth.

Hreth was not a young man. He had aged adequately enough to posses the wisdom in his ever growing mind. At eighty-two, he had seen much, and yet, so little. He had been told stories of the dark wielders and the incredible powers they possessed. He had never seen any sort of evil in all of years. That is, until he began training this army.

Thirty-three years ago he had begun training these keyblade wielders. The mightiest got through initiation. Those with pure hearts remained. The thousands that had departed in the last thirty-three years could not withstand the darkness, and left him for their own selfish purposes. When the first three left, a terrible evil had infected the world. The Xarnok that now plagued the entire world were born just months after the departure of his soldiers. It broke his heart, they had been his favorite wielders. He did not consider them merely soldiers, to him they were his apprentices, training among the soldiers.

They felt differently, however. They had come to him for training, to become as powerful as they could then leave. They were consumed by the intent of world domination.

They had studied science for years, and Hreth had never known. Not until he had confronted the Xarnok. Those disgusting creatures wrought from the shadows. They were their creation.

Yet, Hreth had not seen his students since they left. They battled for days. Three on one, and he had won the small battle. The students were not aiming to defeat him, they just wanted to escape, to go through with their plans. And over the last years they had doubtless recruited many of the soldiers that had left his service.

He knew the ones with black hearts. They lingered in deceit. Their armor a blinding white. Their hair as white. Everything about them was white. Except for the first one. He was completely black. He was like the Xarnok. He could take any form, and move throughout the darkness. His armor was black. Hreth had seen him once since he left. Or, so he thought. It might as well have been a Xarnok. It took on the same figure as this student, Eyith, before he was a shadow. he had defeated it, and saw a pink light drift into the sky. He had no idea what it had been, but it happened with all the Xarnok.

But, now he must focus on the matters at hand. A revolt in the east. The people of Radiant Garden had begun rioting. Displeased with their king, they were determined to remove him from his lofty throne.

Hreth was to check the situation. Analyze the rulings of the king, and suppress the evoked people. He sent for five of his best, and put together a small army. They would depart the next day, and hastily return to his land of birth.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you remember Hreth?"

"Do I remember Hreth?" replied the radiance glowing in the corner. "How could I forget that selfish, loath-full 'general'? He betrayed me, you, and all of us. He dared try cover it up by banishing us from existence!"

A figure emerged from a far wall. A concealed shadow, he slowly walked toward them.

"Eyith," both the figures said in fear.

"We have work to do," said the shadowy figure, flatly.

"What work?" questioned the white figure.

"Extraction."


	5. Chapter 5

Ragnor soared through the sky on his flying vehicle. Where he was headed was his won business. What his business was, however, was to assist the people. Overthrow the evil ruler that plagued their lives. King Truin had ruled his kingdom for far too long. His people, his servants, his slaves.

Ragnor would kill their king, and depart. Leaving those ravaging humans to their own devices.

. . .

Hreth and his men had arrived at the Radiant Garden. Finding the people in an outright uproar. Buildings were burning, they were destroying everything in their path. Could Truin truly be that wicked? He sent his men to hold them at bay, while he went to confront Truin himself.

He sprinted across the jagged landscape of this glorious city. Rising high into the clouds.

His keyblade appeared in his hand. Still sprinting, he threw it into the air. When it returned is was a sort of oversized hover-board. He jumped on and soared into the sky.

. . .

Ragnor turned a corner along the wall, and spotted two guards. They ran toward him, and he quickly dealt with them. Nonchalantly, he continued on. He looked up, only a few hundred feet left. He did a backflip off the ledge he was standing on. his keyblade appeared in his hand and he dug it into the rock face. Another appeared in his left hand, and he began climbing the monumental palace.

. . .

Hreth spotted a figure on the face of the base of the palace. He was climbing, using two keyblades. He focused himself on the task at hand and continued flying up the palace wall.

"Sir!" crackled one of his soldiers in his ear piece.

"What is it?" Hreth replied.

"We can't hold them much longer! We need your help. NOW!" the soldier informed him.

Hreth turned around and started flying down to meet his soldiers at the base of the castle.

. . .

A man flew past Ragnor, going the opposite direction. He had obviously been racing to the top before. His arms were getting tired. He pulled out a keyblade from the wall launched himself backward, and threw the blade into the sky. He landed on the vehicle and began flying to the top.

. . .

Hreth arrived at the bottom of the castle to see the people trampling over his soldiers. He had to act quickly. He spotted each end of the line of people. He flew to one end, and lit the ground on fire. He continued to the end of the line. Hoping this would keep them at bay, he sped into the air, hoping to reach the king before the other one did.

. . .

Hreth arrived at the top and dismounted his vehicle. He ran through the monumental hallway to the door at the end. He threw the doors open to find the king and a keyblade warrior engaged in battle. His keyblade appeared in his hand, and he ran toward the battle. He threw himself in the middle of the two, and faced himself at the keyblade wielder. The two blade wielders were now engaged in a battle of mind.

"What do you think you're doing soldier?" Hreth asked the keyblade wielder.

"This man has been accused of the worst kind of treachery! The people below, they are his people made slaves! Yet, you defend him?"

The keyblade wielder made the first move. He spun around Hreth and went for Truin. He swung low but Truin parried. Hreth slammed his blade in between he two of theirs.

"King Truin, get to safety, now! I will deal with this one!" Hreth commanded.

King Truin turned around and ran away.

"Now you see he also a coward!" The wielder said.

They both threw their arms into the air and attempted to attack each other. Again, the wielder spun around him. He kicked Hreth's legs out from under him. He jumped up into the air, attempting to stab Hreth. He rolled out of the way just in time to see the keyblade wielder stab his blade into the floor.

As the other was pulling his blade from the floor, Hreth rolled into a battle stance. He threw his arms backward and charged this mysterious warrior. He swung at the man, but was blocked. The other wielder had disappeared. Hreth looked to the end of the blade and saw a white blade crossing his.

"Eyith?" Hreth gasped.

When he received no response he pushed forward with his body weight, and threw the mysterious warrior off balance. The warrior feel to the ground with such an impact the white shroud was dismissed, for just a second. In this second, Hreth saw the face of one of his trainees. The boy appeared to be asleep. Hreth stood, aghast until the being rose to it's feet. Hreth could now hear the distorted voice of this strange entity.

"Your empire will fall. Everything you have struggled so hard to obtain will be ripped from you in the blink of an eye. You are a disgrace!"

The anger in Hreth built up to an unmanageable level. He ran at the white being and threw his anger into every swing of his keyblade. One after another, the being deflected each blow, without effort. The warrior was slowly pushing Hreth towards the window. Hreth parried a blow by the light. The white one held the parry and pushed with all its strength, pushing Hreth over the edge of the window which overlooked the Radiant Garden. The adrenaline pounded in Hreth's ears. He was convinced on defeating this creature and freeing the pupil inside.

"Thoren!" Hreth yelled, longingly, "Don't do this! Take control!"

The white creature pushed harder. Hreth continued pushing against it. Hreth overtook the being and threw it into the opposing wall. It crumpled on the ground. Hreth dropped his keyblade and stood, in awe. The white shroud began dissolving around the boy. Hreth ran to him, and grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Thoren?"

Thoren opened his eyes, and looked at Hreth.

"Hreth?" Thoren gasped.

Thoren shook his head and looked again at Hreth.

"HRETH!"

Thoren got to his feet and his keyblade appeared in his hands. Hreth jumped back.

"Thoren, what are you doing?" Hreth pleaded.

"You have no right to live. This army you're creating, I know what it's true purpose is! You hide behind the lie of defense. We all know why you created the army! And that is why I am here! Join us! Join Eyith" Thoren said.

"Eyith? You know where Eyith is?" Hreth asked.

"Know where he is? I'm his right hand man! Join us, and I will take you to him!" Thoren replied.

"What do you want from me?" Hreth hissed.

"We are building an army, we wish to avoid as many casualties as possible. We want you to join our army with ours and build an empire spanning the entire world!" Thoren said.

"What do you hope to gain from this... Empire?" Hreth asked.

"There is a light at the heart of this world, we seek to take for our own!" Thoren said.

"You dare steal anything from the heart of the world? You dare test this world? You are a fool! You will die as suddenly as you came! My army and I will fight you, until there is no remnant of you or the Xarnok! I will never join you!" Hreth said proudly.

"And so, you shall die." Thoren said quietly.

Thoren ran at Hreth. Hreth turned around and jumped out the window. Thoren slowed and looked out the window to see Hreth flying away on his key-vehicle.

"Fool! You will regret this day" Thoren said to himself.

Thoren turned from the window and opened a portal. He walked through and it disappeared behind him.

. . .

Ragnor opened his eyes and looked around the mysterious landscape he was now present. As much as he tried, he could see nothing but black stretching on forever. He looked down to look at floor and saw only the gaping black below him. In surprise, he jumped up and tripped back to the ground he once lay his left he heard the sound of a metal door opening. Ragnor looked and saw a white light spreading horizontally. Through the gap a black figure stepped through. Behind the figure the light diminished until it no longer existed. The black figure was now invisible.

Ragnor stood, and readied himself for battle. Inversion appeared in his hands and let out a battle cry.

"I'm ready. LET'S GO!" Ragnor yelled to his invisible opponent.


End file.
